‘The Great British Baking Show’ Will Help You Through The 2018 Garbage Fire

To borrow a conceit from Community, we’re living in the darkest timeline. Pick a day and chances are there will be another dystopian-sounding news story. From unsettling meetings with North Korea to reports of children being forcibly removed from their families by our government, 2018 has proven to be a horror show… And the best television of the year has captured that. So far this year’s best shows have been about a serial killer (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story), a dictatorship that imprisons and rapes women (The Handmaid’s Tale), and deeply warped race relations (Atlanta and Dear White People). 2018 has been great for television, and horrible for everyone’s mental health.

But there’s one show that can always be counted on to be kind during even the most terrifying news stories. If you need a break from the waking nightmare that is 2018, you need to watch The Great British Baking Show.

Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood’s little baking show is just so nice. Every episode combines the heartfelt kindness of Queer Eye with the reality TV escapism of shows like House Hunters and Property Brothers. Each hour The Great British Baking Show shows another batch of normal, everyday people pursuing their dreams in between their day-to-day lives. They’re not trying to become the next best baker of all time. Some of the contestants don’t even seem interested in showing off. They just want to impress their baking idols, challenge themselves, and have some fun in the process. Plus there’s no mention of Donald Trump in any episode. In fact, the competition show is so far removed from Trump and politics as a whole, it sometimes feels like it exists in a completely separate, happier timeline. It’s wonderful.

(Of note, it sort of is in a separate timeline, as seasons of the show are broadcast in the US years after they air in the UK, and out of order.)

Some people like to argue about The Great British Baking Show. Those arguments are exactly the kinds of feuds you would expect from reality TV fans — Which season is best? Why didn’t this contestant win? Why is Paul Hollywood so inconsistent when it comes to his swiss roll criticisms? Several behind-the-scenes scuffles have also led to some outrage. The show’s move from BBC to Channel 4, which led to everyone but Hollywood quitting, was especially controversial. Noah Fielding’s hiring as one of the show’s new hosts hasn’t been well received either.

But I can’t bring myself to care about the drama. I also can’t make myself care about its contestants in the same fevered way I typically approach American competition shows. That sort of intensity feels contradictory to TGBBS‘ entire conceit. I don’t even need to argue about it or form strong opinions. I just need The Great British Baking Show to be the warm, comforting blanket of genuine kindness is has been since its first episodes.

Almost everyone who competes on TGBBS is just as well-tempered and sweet as the contestant before them and the contestant after them. It’s a collection of nice people doing nice things — baking various sweets. Everything looks delicious, the judgements always seem fair, and rarely have I ran into an episode where someone was sent home without it feeling deserved. The Great British Baking Show is a lovely, low-stakes reprieve from the bloody oneupmanship of the real world. And unlike life in 2018, it makes sense.

Whether you’re looking for something that’s morally and emotionally challenging or just something that will make you laugh, this age of television has proven to be an embarrassment of riches. But there’s really only one show that can heal your soul. There will only be one Great British Baking Show.

Where to stream The Great British Baking Show